The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Computer networks, television networks, and telephony networks are experiencing an unprecedented technological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.
Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate ease of information transfer and convenience to users. Due to the now ubiquitous nature of electronic communication devices, people of all ages and education levels are utilizing electronic devices to communicate with other individuals or contacts, receive services and/or share information, media and other content. One area in which there is a demand to increase ease of information transfer relates to automated testing of communication devices. The automated testing may be performed to ensure that the communication devices operate properly. In this regard, a device manufacturer may ensure that a device(s) is behaving properly prior to being sold to consumers.
Currently, automated test systems utilized by cellular carriers and other manufacturers are typically based on a keyboard paradigm for navigation and simulated user input. These existing systems may, for example, send a test text message by using a sequence such as softkey (e.g., a “left softkey”) to bring up an application list menu, and may use an arrow (e.g., “down arrow” key) to move down the list to a Short Message Service (SMS) application. The existing systems may then select a key (e.g., “select” key) to start the SMS application. At present, the existing test systems may then send messages to communication devices to simulate a user typing content of the message or performing some other test such as, for example, automatically dialing a telephone number, etc. Additionally, these existing test systems may utilize attention (AT) commands to implement modem functionality, but the testing may bypass a user interface of a communication device that the end user may interface with while using the communication device.
As described above, existing automated testing solutions may be based on a keypad paradigm in which there are typically a certain set of fixed keys for user content input, such as alphanumeric keys, keys for navigation such as arrow keys, and so called “soft” keys which typically represents some context sensitive action such as “accept”, “decline”, etcetera.
However, in communication devices utilizing touch input, there may be no way to send or “insert” simulated responses for graphical buttons like “accept”, “decline”, “send”, or other actions or picture icons representing these graphical buttons or other actions. Furthermore, at present, a manner in which to navigate may be by touching an application icon to start an application or touching one of possibly several input boxes being displayed. Touching an input box, may activate the box for input and a graphical entry panel may appear which may be a list of pre-selected choices or it may be a context sensitive keypad. At present, the existing keypad paradigm utilized by test systems may have no way to navigate a landscape of a touch input screen or interface since the touch input screen may not have physical keypads. Additionally, existing solutions may not provide techniques for automating testing in a touch input environment which is independent of the operating system of communication devices or that is easily modifiable for touch input interfaces.
In view of the foregoing drawbacks, it may be beneficial to provide an efficient and reliable mechanism of automating testing of communication devices.